The 23-year-old was pulled out of the van, placed in handcuffs, and detained for about 25 minutes while the agent searched him. When the agents finally found his ID confirming his citizenship, the agents let him go — without offering any explanation or apology.
A 23-year-old electrician from Brentwood is speaking out after a disturbing encounter with federal immigration agents left him handcuffed and shaken, despite being a U.S. citizen.
Elzon Lemus says he was on the job, driving in a work van with his co-worker in Westbury when they were pulled over by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The incident was recorded on Lemus’ phone.
“What’s up, guys? Can I see your ID, please?” an agent asks in the video.
When Lemus questions why they’re being stopped, the agent replies vaguely, “Cause you look like someone I’m looking for. Can I see your ID?”
Lemus continues, “Who are you looking for exactly? Because it’s definitely not me.”
The agent then warns him, “This is going to go one of two ways here. I need to see your ID — if you’re not the guy I’m looking for, you’re not the guy I’m looking for. But we need your ID.”
When Lemus continues to question why he’s being stopped the agent escalates and says “If we don’t get your ID we are going to need to figure out another way to ID you and that may not work out well for you.”
And?
This is PAYDAY. Open and shut slam dunk.
I wish my rights were this clearly violated.
It’s payday… In ten years.
Assuming the laws don’t change.
And assuming ICE doesn’t kill him to stop the lawsuit.
Your cynicism is makes impossible to have a rational discussion.
Everything’s going to be back bite with some little sarcastic pissy remark and I just am exhausted by this kind of dialogue.
It’s payday if a judge in 10 years gives a shit about constitutional violations, or if judges are still non-partisan by then. The dude also looks Latino, so his odds are even worse. I am an outsider looking in, but I wouldn’t trust that shit hole country to uphold any sense of the law after what I’ve seen over the last few weeks. Fuckin’ embarrassing mess down there.
There’s nothing rational about your position! You literally said “I wish my rights were this clearly violated” and you think I’m supposed to take your position seriously? Your wide-eyed credulous optimism will run face-first into reality soon enough, and when you do, I won’t say “I told you so” because I know you’ll already understand that the time for lawsuits is coming to a close.
But don’t call me a cynic. I have revolutionary optimism. I know we can win when we take this seriously.